Evergreen Line, which has been very cautious about adding vessel capacity to its container fleet during the last few years, confirmed Friday that it will start negotiating orders with shipyards soon to build as many as 100 new container ships.
A U.S. spokesperson for the company confirmed media reports from Japan of comments by Evergreen Group Chairman Chang Yung-Fa that it will select the shipyards and start negotiating ship specifications, construction volumes, delivery dates, ship prices, and payment terms in May.
Chang also said that Evergreen Group recorded losses in 2009 for the first time since the company's inception.
He said the group’s overall losses totaled only $300 million. It incurred massive losses during the first half of the year, but was able to make a comeback in the second half as it returned to profitability. Chang said refraining from placing reckless vessel orders was a decisive factor in curbing its losses.
The Taiwanese carriers’ plans for new ships include orders for 32 vessels of a new type with capacity of 8,000 20-foot equivalent units each, for 20 additional S-type (7,024-TEU) ships, for 20 additional U-type (5,364-TEU) ships and for 20 or more 2,000-TEU ships of a new type that will be used for feeder services.
Evergreen, which ranked as the world’s fourth-largest container line by capacity for at least the last five years, slid into fifth place this year as APL, which has also been cautious about ordering new ships moved past it, according to Alphaliner.
Evergreen currently has a fleet of 148 container ships, with a total capacity of 551,490 TEUs, of which it owns 87, charters 61 and has none on order, according to Alphaliner.
Chang said Evergreen plans to negotiate orders with shipyards in South Korea, Taiwan and China, including such shipyards as STX Offshore & Shipbuilding, CSBC Corp., Taiwan and Nantong COSCO KHI Ship Engineering (NACKS). Several Japanese shipyards have also shown interest in building the new orders.
Evergreen has refrained from ordering its own new vessels for nearly 2 1/2 years. It stopped ordering new ships after it took delivery of the last of 10 S-type ships at the Kobe Shipyard of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.
Ordering ships for delivery in 2011 or 2012 will be difficult, meaning the group could be forced to wait for more than four or five years before it can take delivery of new ships. However, the current oversupply of container ships in the face of lower demand may enable it to charter whatever it needs in the interim.
Because it needs to proceed with plans to replace its aging fleet, it has been preparing to order new ships since last year and has already talked with some shipyards to get an idea of ship prices and payment terms.
Chang said the company plans to select the shipyards and begin negotiating orders in May.
He said the company plans on ordering roughly 100 new vessels, of which the largest will be 8,000-TEU ships. It will order 32 of these ships as it intends to deploy eight ships with each of its four group companies in Taiwan, England, Italy and Singapore.
Because it previously stopped ordering the 7,024-TEU S-type series ships and currently only has 10 of these, it will place orders for an additional 20 ships for the time being. Thus far it has procured 18 5,364-TEU U-type series ships, and is considering ordering about 20 additional U-type ships as well.
The company’s group headquarters in Taiwan will order these three types of large ships in bulk and then allot them equally among its four operating companies.
It also plans on ordering 2,000-TEU new-type ships for feeder services. Orders for the ships will be left up to each of the four operating companies.
Chang said the company can wait as long as needed and that it is not in a rush for delivery. He stated that the company will maintain its required fleet through the short-term chartering of many ships for one or two years at the longest, while avoiding long-term charters.
Chang said the pricing of the orders would be a big problem. He said prices of its last order (for additional S-type ships) were abnormally high, forcing it to forgo the order, and said that it plans to persist in placing orders at appropriate prices this time around.
A U.S. spokesperson for the company confirmed media reports from Japan of comments by Evergreen Group Chairman Chang Yung-Fa that it will select the shipyards and start negotiating ship specifications, construction volumes, delivery dates, ship prices, and payment terms in May.
Chang also said that Evergreen Group recorded losses in 2009 for the first time since the company's inception.
He said the group’s overall losses totaled only $300 million. It incurred massive losses during the first half of the year, but was able to make a comeback in the second half as it returned to profitability. Chang said refraining from placing reckless vessel orders was a decisive factor in curbing its losses.
The Taiwanese carriers’ plans for new ships include orders for 32 vessels of a new type with capacity of 8,000 20-foot equivalent units each, for 20 additional S-type (7,024-TEU) ships, for 20 additional U-type (5,364-TEU) ships and for 20 or more 2,000-TEU ships of a new type that will be used for feeder services.
Evergreen, which ranked as the world’s fourth-largest container line by capacity for at least the last five years, slid into fifth place this year as APL, which has also been cautious about ordering new ships moved past it, according to Alphaliner.
Evergreen currently has a fleet of 148 container ships, with a total capacity of 551,490 TEUs, of which it owns 87, charters 61 and has none on order, according to Alphaliner.
Chang said Evergreen plans to negotiate orders with shipyards in South Korea, Taiwan and China, including such shipyards as STX Offshore & Shipbuilding, CSBC Corp., Taiwan and Nantong COSCO KHI Ship Engineering (NACKS). Several Japanese shipyards have also shown interest in building the new orders.
Evergreen has refrained from ordering its own new vessels for nearly 2 1/2 years. It stopped ordering new ships after it took delivery of the last of 10 S-type ships at the Kobe Shipyard of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.
Ordering ships for delivery in 2011 or 2012 will be difficult, meaning the group could be forced to wait for more than four or five years before it can take delivery of new ships. However, the current oversupply of container ships in the face of lower demand may enable it to charter whatever it needs in the interim.
Because it needs to proceed with plans to replace its aging fleet, it has been preparing to order new ships since last year and has already talked with some shipyards to get an idea of ship prices and payment terms.
Chang said the company plans to select the shipyards and begin negotiating orders in May.
He said the company plans on ordering roughly 100 new vessels, of which the largest will be 8,000-TEU ships. It will order 32 of these ships as it intends to deploy eight ships with each of its four group companies in Taiwan, England, Italy and Singapore.
Because it previously stopped ordering the 7,024-TEU S-type series ships and currently only has 10 of these, it will place orders for an additional 20 ships for the time being. Thus far it has procured 18 5,364-TEU U-type series ships, and is considering ordering about 20 additional U-type ships as well.
The company’s group headquarters in Taiwan will order these three types of large ships in bulk and then allot them equally among its four operating companies.
It also plans on ordering 2,000-TEU new-type ships for feeder services. Orders for the ships will be left up to each of the four operating companies.
Chang said the company can wait as long as needed and that it is not in a rush for delivery. He stated that the company will maintain its required fleet through the short-term chartering of many ships for one or two years at the longest, while avoiding long-term charters.
Chang said the pricing of the orders would be a big problem. He said prices of its last order (for additional S-type ships) were abnormally high, forcing it to forgo the order, and said that it plans to persist in placing orders at appropriate prices this time around.